Automatic can-spraying machine.



F. EBERHARI. AUTOMATIC CAN SPRAYING MACHINE.

KPPLICATION F ILED MAR- 3, 1913- I Patented June 6, 1916.

. 3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

fix/M2": 19%67724] l GM CMMM F. EBERHART.

AUTOMATIC CAN SPRAYING MACHINE.

APPLICATION HLED MAR. 3. l9l3;

Patented June 6,1916

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

g/ml/ 1O food preserving containers with lacquer or UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FELIX EBERHART, or NEWARK, NEWYJERSEY, ASSIGNOR ito AMERICAN CAN .ooM-

PANY, OF NEW YORK, n. Y., A coRroRA'rIoN OF NEW JERSEY.

AUTOMATIC CAN-SPRAYIN G' MACHINE.

Application filed March 3,

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FELIX EBERHART, '21 citizen of the United States, residing in Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Automatic Can-Spraying Machines, of which the following is a specification. This invention relates to improvements'in machines for coating open mouth cans or other suitable equivalent material.

. One object. of the invention is to provide a machine that applies a coating of lacquer or other equivalent material to the inside of the can or container, having large output and which is entirely automatic in its operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the type above indicated, having. all its parts designed and arranged to insure an equal and uniform application of the lacquer to the interior of the cans, and yet which at the same time willuse a minimum amount of the lacquer necessary-toaccomplish the desired result.

A still furtherobject of the invention is to provide a spraying or coating machine so designed that the application of the lacquer or other material is carried on within a hood or shell, whereby the escape of the volatile V vapors from the lacquer or other compound to the room in which the machine is operat-v ing is prevented, and means provided for carrying off the volatile fumes. i

The invention furthermore consists in the improvements-in the parts and devices, and in the novel combinations of parts and devices as herein shown, described or claimed. In the drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a vertical, sectional view showing a machine embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a horizontal, sectional 'view, taken substantially on the line 22of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view of a' portion of the mechanism, taken substantially on the line 33 of Fig. 2, and

illustrating more, particularly one of the spray nozzles andone of the chucks, and

Fig. 4 is a detail View showing the mechanism for operating the valves controlling the supplies of lacquer and compressed air.

In the drawing, the machine as shown comprises a base 10, having an upwardly extended hollow hub 11, in which is rotatably gear 29 at its inner end meshing Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J 11113 6, 1916,

1918. Serial no. 751,775.

mounted a vertical shaft 12, the latter being rotated from any suitable source, (not shown) by means of pulley 13, horizontal shaft 14 and bevel gears 15 and 16. Secured to the shaft 12 and rotatabletherewith is a carrier 17 which is in the form of a four armed spider and is provided with four chuck housings 18, equally spaced around the periphery of the carrier. The. carrier is also provided with an upper, annular member 19, having a plurality of pockets 20 disposed in alinement with the chuck housings .18, said pockets 20 being adapted toireceive and properly center the cans 21118 the same are fed to the carrier "from the platform 22.

by means of an endless belt 23, suitably supported on pulleys 24, one of which, is driven by means of a vertical shaft 25, having a bevel gear 26 at the bottom thereof, the latter meshing with a bevel gear 27 mounted on a short, horizontal shaft 28, having a bevel with the bevel gear 16. Also secured to the shaft 12 nozzles 31, the number. of spraying nozzles corresponding to the number of chucks on the carrier, and each spraying nozzle having a hollow, cylindrical portion 32, an adjustable valve 33 and connected to a lacquer supand rotatabletherewith is ashield disk 30, to which .is secured a plurality of spraying ing of the-lacquer. .or" other equivalent ma terial to the inner walls of the can.

Mounted in each of the chuck housings 18, and adapted to support and rotate the cans during the rotation ofthe carrier, is a chuck 36, to which is secured a'small friction pulley 38 which, during a part of a. complete rotation of the carrier, engages a friction band 39, whereby the cans are axially ro-.

tated duringa part only of their movement while on the carrier. As more clearly shown in Fig. 2, the friction band 39 extends for approximately only through anarc of 180 degrees. Slidably mounted within each of he spindles 37 is a stem 40, having an ejector plate 41 at the top thereof, said stem 40 being normally held down. by means of a spring 42 in a well known manner. The stems 40 are raised during a portion of the travel of the carrier by means of a stationary cam track 43 (see Fig. 2), whereby the cans are lifted out of the chucks 36 and are The point, in the rotation of the can carrier'and the connected parts, where the cans to be sprayed are placed on the carrier I term the can feeding or receiving station, and the point where the sprayed cans are removed from the carrier I term the can ej ecting station.

Mounted above the spray nozzles and secured to the shaft 12 and rotatable therewith is an annular tank 47, adapted to contain the lacquer or other equivalent material for coating the interiors of the cans, said tank 47 being in communication with each of the spray nozzles 31 by means of the pipes 34,. each pipe 34 having included therein a valve 48 operated as hereinafter described. Each of the air pipes 35 communicates with a radial passage formed in the upper portion of the shaft 12, all the radial passageways 49 in turn communicating with an axial bore 50 through which the compressed air is supplied from any suitable source (not shown). Each air pipe 34 has included therein a valve 51, the valves 51 and 48 for each spray nozzle 31 being operated simultaneously by means of lever arms 52 connected by means of a link 53, the latter having a projecting roller 54 engaging in a grooved stationary cam track 55, the cam being so arranged that the compressed air and lacquer are admitted to the spray nozzles only while the chucks 36 are being rotated.

The carrier and spraying devices are all preferably inclosed by means of a hood or shell 56, the latter being provided with suitable openings for permitting the entrance and removal of the cans, and having also an outlet pipe 57 in which may be placed an exhaust fan or other suction device to therebydraw out the volatile vapors or fumes from the lacquer. At the bottom of the hood or shell 56 is formed 'a drip pan 58 adapted to catch all the heavier parts of the lacquer which fall to the bottom of the scribed one form of machine embodying my improvements, yet it will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made 1n thedetails of construction and ar- 20 while the same are rangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention, and all such changes and modifications are contemplated as come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

1 claim 2- 1., An apparatus for applying a coating of lacquer or other equivalent material to the interior walls of a can or other form-of container comprising, in combination: means for supporting and carrying a container in an upright position; and devices for applying a thin coating of fluid material over the internal surfaces of said container while the same is being conveyed; said coating applying devices having actuating means whereby they are carried in parallelism with the can carrier during the entire course of the latter; substantially as specified.

2. An apparatus for applying a coating of lacquer or other equivalent material to the interior walls of a can or other form of container comprising, in combination: means, rotatable about a vertical axis, for supporting and conveying a container in an upright position; and devices for applying a thin coating of a fluid material over the internal surfaces of the container while being conveyed, said coating applying de- Vicesbeing maintained constantly in cooperative relation withthe cans whilethe lat ter are on the can conveying means; substantially as specified.

' 3. An apparatus forapplying a coating of lacquer or other equivalent material to the interior walls of a can or other form of container comprising, in combination: means for supporting and conveying a container in an upright position; and devices for applying a thin coating of a fluid material over the internalsurfaces of said container while being conveyed, said coating de vices being movable constantly in unison and cooperative relation with the supporting and conveying means from the can feeding station to the can ejecting station; substantially as specified.

4. An apparatus for applying a coating of lacquer or other equivalent material to the interior walls of a can or other form of container comprising, in combination: a

central vertical shaft; a can carrier fixed-v thereon and provided with can holders; spraying devices connected with and carried by the said shaft,-constantly in cooperative relation with said holders; means for supplying coating material to said spraying devices; and means for actuating said shaft; substantially as specified.

5. An apparatus for applying a coating of lacquer or other equivalent material to the interior walls of a can or other form of container comprising, in combination: a central vertical shaft; a can carrier fixed thereon and provided With can holders;

spraying devices connected with and carried by the said shaft, constantly in 0061;)- erative relation with said holders; means for supplying coating material to said spraying devices; devices whereby the can holders are rotated on vertical axes; and means for actuating said shaft; substantially as set forth.

6. An apparatus for applying a coating of lacquer or other equivalent material to the interior walls of the can or other form of container comprising, in combination: a rotatable carrier, a chuck bodily movable with said carrier and adapted to rotate a container; a spraying device having means whereby it is constantly carried in cooperative relation with said carrier, and arranged to thinly coat the internal" surface with .a fluid material; and means for rotating the carrier chuck while the carrier is rotating; substantially as specified.

7. An apparatus for applying a coating of lacquer or other equivalent material to the interior walls of a can or other form of container comprising, in combination: a rotary hood; a rotary carrier located within said hood and adapted to carry acontainer therewith; and devices carried beneath said rotary hood for applying a thin coating of fluid material to the interior of the container while the same is being conveyed; substantially as specified.

8. An apparatus for applying a coating of lacquer or other equivalent material to the interior walls of a can or other form of container comprising, in combination: a hood; a rotary carrier located within said hood and adapted to carry a container therewith; and devices, rotatable in unison and cooperative relation with said carrier constantly from the can feeding station to the can ejecting station, for applying a thin coating of a fluid material to the interior of a container while being conveyed; substantially as specified.

9. An apparatus for applying -a coating of lacquer or other equivalent material to the interior walls of a can or other form of container comprising, in combination: a hood; a rotary conveyer located within said hood and adapted to carry a container therewith; devices for applying a thincoating of fluid material to the interior of the container while being conveyed, said devices being rotatable in unison and cooperative relation with the carrier constantly from the .can feeding station to the can ejecting station; and mechanism for rotating the container and the coating devices relatively to each other during the movement of the carrier; substantially as specified.

10. An apparatus for applying a coating of lacquer or other equivalent material to the interior walls of a can or other form of container comprising, in combination: a carrier rotatable about a vertical axis and having a plurality of container holding chucks; means rotating constantly in cooperative relation with said carrier from the can receiving station to the can ejecting station for applying a thin coating of a -fluid material to the internal surfaces of containers while on said carrier; and mechanisni for rotating the chucks While moving with said carrier; substantially as specified.

11. An apparatus for applying a coating of lacquer or other equivalent material to the interior walls of a can or other form of mechanism for rotating the chucks intermittently during a part only of the rotation of thec'arrier; substantially as s ecified.

12. An apparatus for applying a coating of lacquer or other equivalent material to the interior walls of a can or other form of container comprising, in combination: a carrier rotatable about a vertical axis and having a plurality of holders bodily movable therewith; a plurality of coating devices movable in unison with said carrier, the number of said devices c0rresp0nding to the number of holders; mechanism for rotating the holders and coating devices relatively to each other during the rotation of the carrier; a tank for containing a supply of lacquer; and means, automatically operated,

for controlling the supply of the lacquer to isiaid coating devices, substantially as speci- 13. An apparatus for applying a coating of lacquer or other equivalent material to the interior walls of a can or other form of container comprising, in combination: a carrier rotatable about a vertical axis and having a plurality of holders bodily movable therewith; a plurality of coatingdevices movable in unison With the carrier and corresponding in number to the number of said holders; mechanism for rotating the holders and coating devices relatively to each other during apart only of the rotation of said carrier; a supply tank for containing lacquer; and means, automatically operated, for permitting the supply of the lacquer to the coating devices while the coating devices and holders are being rotated relatively to each other, substantially as specified.

14. An apparatus for applying a coating of lacquer or other equivalent material to the interior walls of a can or other form of container comprising, in. combination: a carrier rotatable about a vertical axis and having a plurality of holders bodily movable therewith; a plurality of coating devices movable in unison with said carrier, the number of said devices corresponding to the number of holders; mechanism for rotating the holders and coating devices relatively to each other during the rotation of the carrier; a tank for containing a supply of lacquer; means, automatically operated, for controlling the supply of the lacquer to said coating devices; and a hood inclosing said carrier and coating devices to thereby prevent escape of volatile fumes from the lacquer, substantially as specified.

15. An apparatus for applying a coating of lacquer or other equivalent material to the interior walls of a can or other form of container comprising, in combination: a carrier rotatable about a vertical aXis and having a plurality of holders bodily movable therewith; a plurality of coating devices movable in unison with said carrier, the number of said devices corresponding to the number of holders; mechanism for rotating the holders and coating devices relatively to each other during the rotation of the carrier; a tank for containing a supply of lacquer; means, automatically operated, for controlling the supply of the lacquer to said coating devices; means for feeding containers to the holders of the carrier successively; and means for ejecting the containers after the same have been coated, substantially as specified.

16. An apparatus for applying a coating of lacquer or other equivalent material to the interior walls of a can or other form of container comprising, in combination: a rotatable carrier having a plurality of holders thereon and bodily movable therewith; a plurality of coating devices corresponding in number to the number of said holders andmovable in unison with the carrier, mechanism for rotating the holders during a part only of a complete rotation of the carrier; and means for supplying lacquer to-said coating devices while the holders are being rotated, substantially as specified.

17. An apparatus for applying a coating of lacquer or other equivalent material. to the interior walls of a can or other form of container comprising, incombination: a car rier rotatable about a vertical aXis and provided with a plurality of chucks bodily movable therewith; a plurality of coating devices corresponding in number to the number of said chucks and movable in .unison with the carrier; each of said coating devices having a lacquer supply and a supply of compressed air; mechanism for rotating the chucks; and means automatically operated,

for controlling the supply of lacquer and compressed air to each of the coating devices, substantially as specified.

18. An apparatus for applying a coating vided with a plurality of chucks bodily movof lacquer or other equivalent material to the interior walls of a can or other form of container comprising, in combination: carrier rotatable about a vertical aXis and proable therewith; a plurality of coating devices corresponding in number to the number of said chucks and movable in unison with the carrier, each of said coating devices having a lacquer supply and a supply of compressed air; and mechanism for rotating the chucks, substantially as specified.

19. An apparatus for applying a coat ing of lacquer or other equivalent material to the interior walls of a can or other form of container comprising, in combination: a carrier having a plurality of rotatable can holder chucks thereon and bodily movable therewith; a plurality of spraying nozzles movable in unison with said carrier, the 35 number of said spraying nozzles corresponding to the number of chucks, the spraying nozzles being located above the chucks; means for rotating the chucks while the same are moving bodily with the carrier; and automatically operated means for controlling the supply of lacquer to the nozzles, substantially as specified.

20. An apparatus for applying a coating of lacquer or other equivalent material to the 9 interior walls of a can or other form of container comprising, in combination: a carrier rotatable about a vertical axis and provided with a plurality of rotatable can holding chucks a plurality of spraying devices movable in unison with said carrier and located above the same; a hood inclosing the carrier and spraying devices; means for feeding cans to the chucks on the carrier; ands mechanism for ejecting the cans from the carrier and out of the hood, after the cans have been sprayed, substantially as specified.

21. An apparatus *for applying a coating of lacquer or other equivalent material to the interior walls of a can or other form of container comprising, in combination: a carrier constantly rotatable about a vertical axis and having a plurality of rotatable can holding chucks bodily movable therewith; a plurality of spraying nozzles located above said carrier and movable in unison and cooperative relation therewith from the can receiving station to the can ejecting station; means for rotating the chucks during a part only of a complete rotation of the carrier; automatically operated means for controlling the supply of lacquer to said spraying nozzles; anda hood inclosing said carrier and spraying nozzles; substantially as specified. r

22. An apparatus for applying a coating of lacquer or other equivalent material to the interior walls of a can or other form of container comprising, in combination: a car- 130 cular rotations; and means including a Sta-- tionary cam track, for automatically con-- trolling the supply of lacquer and compressed air to the spray nozzles; substantially as specified.

23. An apparatus of the character described comprising, in combination: a carrier rotatable about a vertical axis having a plurality of independently and axially rotatable chucks thereon; a plurality of spray ing devices rotatable in unison with the carrier, the number of said spraying devices corresponding to the number of said chucks;

, a shielddisposed above the carrier and 0n which the spraying devices are supported; means for supplying lacquer or equivalent material and compressed air to thespraying devices; and means for rotating the chucks during a part only of a complete rotation of the carrier, substantially as specified.

24. An apparatus of'the character described comprising, in combination; a rotatable carrier having a plurality of independently and axially rotatable chucks thereon; a plurality of spraying devices rotatable in unison with the carrier; means for. supplying lacquer or equivalent material and compressed air to the spraying devices; mechanism automatically controlling the supply of lacquer and compressed air; a hood within which said carrier and spraying devices are movable; a conveyer for feeding articles to the carrier; and means for e1ectmg the articles after the same have been sprayed, substantially as specified.

25. An apparatus of the character described comprising, in combination: a rotatable carrier havinga plurality of independently and axially rotatable chucks thereon; mechanism for rotating said chucks axial y during a part only of a complete rotation of the carrier; a shield disposed above the carrier and movable in unison therewith;

a plurality of spraying devices mounted on said shield, the number of said spraying devices corresponding to" the number of chucks; and means, automatically operated,

for controlling the supply of lacquer to said spraying devices, substantially as specified.

FELIX EBERHART. Witnesses:

W. D. FOs'rER, C. W. GRAHAM. 

